Obama's ringing defense of liberalism

By

Updated 2350 GMT (0750 HKT) January 21, 2013

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama head out for their first dance together at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball, honoring U.S. service members and their families, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Monday, January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The president and first lady share a moment during the Commander-in-Chief's Ball on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, each dance with service members at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Police take the lead in the inaugural parade January 21 as the first couple walk down a part of Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The president and first lady greet crowds as they move along Pennsylvania Avenue on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Spectators watch as the president and first lady travel along Pennsylvania Avenue on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – President Obama exits his limousine to walk during a portion of the presidential inaugural parade on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – People stand on barricades near the White House while trying to catch a glimpse of the president's parade on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Sasha, left, and Malia Obama take a photo of themselves during the inaugural parade.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Men in traditional colonial garb perform as President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk along Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama wave to the crowd as they make their way along the parade route on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The president walks a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue on the parade route during the 57th presidential inauguration on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Members of the inaugural parade walk along Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – People watch as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are driven past crowds during the Inauguration parade on Monday, in Washington. President Obama was sworn in for a second term office at the U.S. Capitol building.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – President Obama waves as the presidential inaugural parade winds through the nation's capital on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The Obamas walk to the reviewing stand for the inaugural parade January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – President Obama shares a moment with House Speaker John Boehner, second from right, as first lady Michelle Obama applauds at the inaugural luncheon in Statuary Hall on Inauguration Day at the U.S. Capitol building on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael J. Linnington, center, joins the Obamas and Bidens to watch a review of the troops on the East Side of the Capitol on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama signs nominations for Sen. John Kerry as secretary of state, White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew as treasury secretary, former Sen. Chuck Hagel as defense secretary and John Brennan as CIA director after swearing-in ceremonies at the Capitol on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Senate and House leaders and Vice President Joe Biden applaud the president after he signs a proclamation to commemorate the inauguration on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Former President Jimmy Carter, left, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, center, and former President Bill Clinton arrive at the Inauguration for President Obama's second term of office on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Left to right, Donica Perez, Janelle Stewart, Shani Perez, Kinda Romero and Danielle Houston watch the Inauguration on the Jumbotron near the U.S. Capitol building on the National Mall.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – President Barack Obama delivers his inaugural address January 21. A flag-waving crowd was noticeably smaller than those who turned out four years ago, but it still packed the National Mall for blocks.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama takes the oath of office January 21. The nation's first African-American president used a pair of Bibles -- one from Abraham Lincoln, the other from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Igor Naumovski is among the flag-waving celebrants on the National Mall during the inauguration ceremony on Monday, in Washington.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – First lady Michelle Obama makes her way to watch her husband take the oath of office for a second term in a public ceremony Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – People cheer at a television camera on the National Mall before the inauguration ceremony Monday in Washington.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – President Barack Obama addresses the audience after taking the oath of office on January 21.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – Tourists watch Monday's inauguration from Times Square.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Thousands of people attend the 57th presidential inauguration on January 21 in Washington.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Michelle Obama arrives with daughters Sasha, left, and Malia for the inauguration on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama speaks after taking the oath of office on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir performs at the inauguration ceremony on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – People gather for the presidential inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Michelle Obama holds the Bible as her husband takes the oath of office on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama waves during the public ceremonial inauguration on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Attendees wave flags at the public ceremonial swearing-in ceremony for Obama on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – People watch from the National Mall as Obama is sworn in on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama takes the oath of office on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Kelly Clarkson performs "My Country 'Tis of Thee" during the presidential inauguration ceremony on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama, center, pauses before walking out the door of the U.S. Capitol to begin swearing-in ceremonies on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts as first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha watch on Monday, January 21.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama and Vice President Joe Biden had already taken quiet oaths the day before Monday's public ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – The president and first lady appear exuberant Monday as Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York joins them at the inauguration.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – Celebrity couple Jay-Z and Beyonce arrive Monday at the inauguration.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – The president greets his daughters Sasha and Malia at the Capitol on Monday.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and former President Jimmy Carter greet the crowd Monday.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama salutes as he arrives Monday at the West Front of the Capitol.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Bonita Volcy and nephew Cullan King, 10, of Texas try to keep warm on the National Mall in Washington on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The Lee University Festival Choir from Cleveland, Tennessee, performs Monday on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – A presidential cutout rises above the crowd gathering Monday near the Capitol.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The U.S. Capitol Police stand guard Monday atop the Capitol.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – A place card awaits President Barack Obama for Monday's inaugural luncheon in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Throngs gather Monday for the inauguration.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – Crowds await the start of the presidential inauguration Monday on the Capitol's West Front .

Best of 2013 inauguration – People gather near the Capitol on the National Mall for Monday's inauguration ceremony.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – A woman with an Obama button waits near the Capitol on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The president and his daughters return to the White House from prayer services at St. John's Episcopal Church on January 21.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – President Barack Obama arrives Monday at St. John's Episcopal Church hours before taking part in a ceremonial swearing-in for his second term.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – An inaugural attendee yawns while others huddle beneath a blanket Monday at the Capitol.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – President Barack Obama takes the oath of office Sunday from U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts as first lady Michelle Obama holds the Bible, with daughters Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, by their parents' side in the White House Blue Room.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – People gather near the U.S. Capitol building on the National Mall for the ceremony on Monday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Roberts arrives to administer the oath of office to Obama at the White House on Sunday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Michelle Obama embraces her husband after he took the oath of office January 20. Daughters Malia, left, and Sasha watch from the side.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – A stage technician from Maryland Sound International sets up microphones for the presidential inauguration at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – David Carr poses with one of the Barack Obama doll heads he is selling as Washington prepares on Sunday for Obama's second inauguration.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – A chorus rehearses at the U.S. Capitol building on Sunday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York greets people at the Capitol on Sunday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Christian evangelist Mary Clement of Silver Spring, Maryland, sings and reads from her Bible as she walks along Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House on Sunday.

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Photos: Best of 2013 inauguration – Obama and Biden lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on January 20.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – An American flag waves at the U.S. Capitol building on January 20 as Washington prepares for Obama's second inauguration.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Biden takes the oath of office from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the Naval Observatory on Sunday as his wife, Jill Biden, right, looks on.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Workers prepare the parade route in front of the U.S. Capitol building on Sunday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The Smithsonian's Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture is decoratively lit for the 2013 Inaugural Youth Ball on Saturday, January 19, in Washington.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – The inaugural reviewing stand is under construction in front of the White House on Friday, January 18.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – A souvenir salesman displays inauguration memorabilia on sale on Friday.

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Best of 2013 inauguration – Workers prepare the U.S. Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony on Friday.

Bob Greene: He spoke of "never-ending journey" for U.S.; more remarkable journey is his

President Barack Obama was sworn in Monday for a second term. CNN contributors and analysts offered these assessments of the 44th's president's inauguration:

Julian Zelizer: A call to the obligations of citizenship

The speech connected the greatest generation with our generation. In a ringing defense of liberalism and the obligations of citizenship, Obama called on the nation to complete the unfinished struggles of the 1950s and 1960s -- making rights real, giving more Americans the tools they need to work their way into the middle class and caring for those who can't care for themselves.

He didn't present this as an argument from a Democratic president, but rather as a leader who believes the nation is exceptional. He continued to express his desire to search for the middle way, but based on a strong defense of the political tradition that shapes him. It was powerful oration for a contentious moment in national politics.

Julian Zelizer

Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter" and of "Governing America."

Obama's second inaugural address was a deeply moving and patriotic speech.

It was one of the most effective usages of the founding documents' principles as a supporting narrative -- drawing us from the past to the present to the future. It combined two of Obama's greatest strengths: his reason (constitutional analysis, desire to teach) with his poetic skills as a writer and a leader.

He touched on some of the practical challenges facing America. And in addressing these, he reaffirmed the approach he outlined during the election.

Donna Brazile

But the speech itself was about a different kind of affirmation. It echoed sentiments and subjects that have been a motif of his presidency, indeed his career. Obama defined what may be called an American faith.

In referring to the Declaration of Independence's guiding principle, he said, "For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by his people here on Earth."

Each balanced phrase and each oscillation between where we have been and where we must go elaborated this theme: The American faith is the faith in America. "We are true to our creed," he said, when even a little girl born in poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own."

I will long ponder this, that "preserving our planet, commanded to our care by God ... will lend meaning to the creed our fathers."

This may not be remembered as the most stirring or oratorical inaugural speech. But it was a president sharing with the nation his values most personal and vision most spiritual.

Donna Brazile, a CNN contributor and a Democratic strategist, is vice chairwoman for voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee. She is a nationally syndicated columnist, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and author of "Cooking With Grease." She was manager for the Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign in 2000.

Inaugurations are usually pretty dull, and second-term inaugurations are usually even worse. Obama's speech was much better than I thought it would be -- not one for the ages, but good for our time. The crowds, perhaps surprisingly, were enormous -- almost as large as 2008.

Obama spoke clearly about his own views without openly criticizing his opponents. As he did in 2008, he continued to call for compromise, although he must have known that little compromise in Congress is waiting. And so he continued with his list of his hopes -- few of which will likely succeed.

Alan Brinkley

No one has reached the level of Lincoln's second inauguration speech. Obama's speech is not likely to be remembered in the way Lincoln's was. But it was better than most inaugural speeches, and better than his 2008 speech. To me, though, the best part of the inauguration was the little known poet Richard Blanco, who sounded like a new Walt Whitman.

Alan Brinkley is the Allan Nevins professor of history at Columbia University.

Obama used his second inaugural address to recast contemporary political debates in the larger sweep of American history, implicitly making the case that the current Democratic Party's agenda is in the mainstream of American history, part of a constant process of forming a more perfect union -- with individual freedom heightened best when balanced with community security.

It was an audacious speech to the extent that Obama sought to reclaim politicized concepts like American exceptionalism from their conservative contexts, making the case that the combination of diversity and opportunity makes the American Dream possible for each new generation.

John Avlon

The president did not shy away from commenting on contemporary policy debates, saying that "the commitments we make to each other -- through Medicare and Medicaid, and Social Security -- these things do not sap of initiative, they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great." Somewhere in La Jolla, California, Mitt Romney's ears were burning.

Although the ambitions of the speech were audacious, the scope of the speech was sprawling and dotted with policy references more suited to a State of the Union address. It was not tightly framed or focused on a single concept, nor was there a single clear phrase that summed up the speech, at least at first listen.

The closing refrain -- a reminder that the presidential oath of office is an extension of the oath of citizenship taken by new immigrants or the oath taken by soldiers -- also offered a reach across the aisle: "It was an oath to God and country, not party or faction." Balanced with the pointed presidential reality check that "We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling for reasoned debate," it summed up the hopes of this inaugural moment and the import of his decisive re-election amid such a divided political landscape.

Here's hoping for all of us that those patriotic emotions -- those actual imperatives of self-government -- are carried forward into the next Congress.

John Avlon is a CNN contributor and senior political columnist for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. He is co-editor of the book "Deadline Artists: America's Greatest Newspaper Columns." He is a regular contributor to "Erin Burnett OutFront" and is a member of the OutFront Political Strike Team. For more political analysis, tune in to "Erin Burnett OutFront" at 7 ET weeknights.

This was the rainbow inauguration. It was dedicated above all to showcasing the diversity of the American people and calling on us once again to fulfill the promise of e pluribus unum -- out of many, one. Foreign policy got a scant few paragraphs.

But the single most important moment was Obama's decision to list our commitment "to respond to the threat of climate change" as the first mention of a foreign policy issue. He spoke of leading a transition to sustainable energy resources, a national grand strategy that has recently been proposed by Patrick Doherty of the New America Foundation, building on the proposal of a new strategic narrative by two military men working for Adm. Michael Mullen when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Anne-Marie Slaughter

Climate change is in fact the most important existential and security issue of our time. Equally important, it is both a foreign policy and a domestic policy issue. Obama believes that how we respond to our domestic challenges will determine our power and influence in the world, so he will bring troops home, engage the world through partnerships, support democracy through the power of our example, and, as he said so often on the campaign trail, engage in nation-building here at home.

Anne-Marie Slaughter is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. She curates foreign policy on Twitter at @slaughteram.

The crowd cheered when President Obama was introduced. It cheered loudly for the first lady and her bangs. The people politely applauded Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and other leaders of the Democratic Party.

When Beyonce and Jay-Z were shown on the big screen, there were screams and when the Clintons emerged, shouts. None of this was unexpected.

What did surprise me was the enthusiastic reaction to Sonia Sotomayor. Maybe it was because she was selected to swear in Vice President Biden, though John Roberts was barely recognized when he was on the screen and he saved Obamacare.

LZ Granderson

You would think for a crowd as partisan as this one -- Paul Ryan was booed loudly -- that Roberts would get some love. But nope. On this day there was room for only one Supreme Court rock star and it was the wise Latina from the Bronx who, despite all of her success, still admits to suffering a tad from imposter syndrome.

Perhaps hearing hundreds of thousands of people cheer at the sight of her face will help her get over it.

LZ Granderson, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, was named journalist of the year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter: @locs_n_laughs.

Ana Navarro: Today, revel in the strength of democracy

I love the pomp and circumstance of inaugurals. I love the significance of the traditions. I was born in Nicaragua into a dictatorship that had already lasted more than two decades. I lived through a civil war and communist revolution before I was 10.

Today, I am fortunate to live in a country where for 224 years we have had peaceful transitions of government. Sadly, it is something of a rare occurrence in our hemisphere and our world. In these difficult times when political divisions and ideological differences dominate our political discourse, we must not take for granted the strength of our democracy. We cannot forget, that in other countries, political disagreements can land you in exile, jail or a grave.

Ana Navarro

Inaugurations are a day for unity and vision, a day for lofty rhetoric and inspiration. It's not a day when we wave a magical wand to erase divisions. Instead, it is a day when in spite of those divisions, we recognize that our Constitution and democracy prevail.

I'm not going to dissect Obama's speech. Former Jimmy President Carter called it a "very progressive" speech. I agree. There were many lines in that speech that the coalition that voted for Obama will find encouraging, and those who didn't vote for him, will not. We have plenty of time to focus on those differences. Today, let's focus on what brings us together, not drives us apart

Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist and commentator, was national Hispanic campaign chairwoman for John McCain in 2008 and national Hispanic co-chair for Jon Huntsman's 2012 campaign. Follow her on Twitter @ananavarro.

Obama obviously intends to govern as he campaigned -- as a committed, uncompromising liberal. We were promised one of those "bring us together"-type speeches that typified the heady days of 2009; instead we got a more policy specific speech that reflected the difficult, partisan reality of 2013. Obama has an agenda, and he's willing to fight for it.

The philosophical ground work was laid out. Freedoms, we learned, "are self-evident but not self-executing." It requires "collective action" to realize basic liberties. And we cannot truly be free if dominated by a "privileged few." So we were promised economic justice, renewable energy and a moral commitment to gay rights -- "for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well." For that line alone the speech proved controversial but admirably courageous. All of this is germane to European politics, but it feels radical coming from a U.S. president. It wouldn't have been out of place if he had joined James Taylor in a rendition of "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing."

Timothy Stanley

Obama's presidency was supposed to heal the nation, but it's notable just how divided it feels today. Aside from the polls that show significant numbers of Americans are worried about the future (and worrying numbers of Republicans hoping that the president's policies will fail), the biggest marker of this is the growing philosophical difference between the parties. If Romney had won, his speech would no doubt be equally as partisan but very different in tone and content. And the enormous gulf between Obama's collectivist reading of the Constitution and Romney's individualist one reflects the fracturing of the country into camps that understand their country's history and values very differently.

Of course, if Romney had won, the speech probably also wouldn't have been so good. On style alone, Obama has earned his place in history. What he makes of his second term, however, will be determined by forces beyond his control.

Timothy Stanley is a historian at Oxford University and blogs for Britain's The Daily Telegraph. He is the author of "The Crusader: The Life and Times of Pat Buchanan."

It was more sober in this inaugural address, but Obama's message is still one of hope and change. On a cold, windy morning, before a smaller throng than last time around, the president laid out his vision with a keen focus on what got him: his championing of the middle class, a recognition and celebration of the growing and powerful demographics in this country -- Latinos, women, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, and young people -- and a reaffirmation that we "are all in this together."

Maria Cardona

The historic participation of four Latinos front and center and his mention of immigration reform- by description if not by name, underscored the importance of the Latino electorate. You saw co- chair of the Inaugural Eva Longoria, Justice Sonia Sotomayor who swore in Vice President Biden, openly gay Latino poet Laureate Richard Blanco reciting a riveting poem that reflected the diversity of the country, and the Rev. Luis Leon, who gave part of the benediction in Spanish. This, along with the president's acknowledgment in his speech that we cannot be a country that is unwelcoming of immigrants or one that does not embrace young immigrants who have studied hard and want to succeed, was a clear indication that the president understands that the 71% of Latinos who helped get him elected will be looking for him to have their back. It seems he will.

He was also defiant in his defense of the middle class and put his opponents on notice that he will not back down in the fights ahead to ensure that Medicare and Social Security remain strong and that our economy is rebuilt for everyone, not just the privileged few. He gave his supporters hope he will continue to fight for them. He gave all Americans the assurance the country will continue to change for the better. Still: hope and change.

Maria Cardona is a Democratic strategist, a principal at the Dewey Square Group, a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton and former communications director for the Democratic National Committee.

Obama used those words to describe America's path. But, long after most of the specific words of his second inaugural address fade into memory, it is another journey -- his -- that will be endlessly instructive, both for his admirers and his detractors.

Bob Greene

The ambition, the lightning speed with which, in 10 brief years, he changed the trajectory of his life, seem only more remarkable on a day like Monday, when, at the U.S. Capitol, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" as he waited to again take the oath of office.

Among the faces at the Capitol as Obama arrived was that of a congressman from Illinois named Bobby Rush. Ten Januarys ago Obama was a member of the state Legislature in Illinois, having returned to those chambers after, in 2000, suffering a humiliating defeat. He had hoped to go on to national politics, to the U.S. Congress, but Rush had crushed him 2-to-1 in the primary. Obama's career, at least beyond the confines of Springfield, Illinois, seemed stalled.

In January of 2003, could even Obama, with all his self-confidence, have imagined that in January of 2013 he would be taking the oath of presidential office for the second time?

He will only be 55 when he finishes his second term. Perhaps, when all the politics are done, he will feel at ease to explain, in human terms, just how he convinced himself that all of this was even remotely possible.

"We cannot afford delay," he said to the nation Monday.

He was referring to all of us, to the country. But you could look at him and consider what must go through a person's mind when he seems stuck in a place he doesn't want to be, and decides that urgency may be the only answer.

"We are made for this moment," he said Monday, the words traveling around the world.

CNN contributor Bob Greene is a best-selling author whose 25 books include "Late Edition: A Love Story," "Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights" and "When We Get to Surf City: A Journey Through America in Pursuit of Rock and Roll, Friendship, and Dreams."

Inaugural addresses, especially the second time around, are not supposed to matter.

This one did. That's because future historians will mark it as the moment that Obama explained why he is a progressive.

Brian Balogh

The programs that Obama called for were characteristically liberal: reaffirming the social safety net, equal pay for women, etc. Nothing new here -- just the Obama classic.

What differed this time, and what this moment was made for (to twist the president's own words) was articulating the progressive rationale for these programmatic ends. "Preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action," Obama proudly told the nation.

Compare this with the rationale that Obama offered to the American people at his State of the Union less than a year ago. Saving the heroic mission to capture Osama bin Laden for the grand finale, the president insisted that the "mission only succeeded because" each brave warrior knew that "there's somebody behind you, watching your back." The pre-election Obama, still seeking the middle ideologically, deployed the lowest common denominator of Cold War liberalism -- collective security -- as the rationale for a far more ambitious social program.

His second election behind him, Obama linked his fate and the nation's to a rationale that propelled tens of millions of Americans into the middle class. By making collective action explicit, Obama yoked a century-old progressive agenda to the nation's founding documents and its past history. "Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people." To achieve America's lofty goals of "life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" will require back watching, backslapping and no shortage of back-scratching as well.

But today, Obama left that for back benchers. He stated the "c" word -- collective -- loudly and proudly. And the nation will be better off for his candor.